Families Book Reviews

Name: Ellen Green
10 June 2021;

Genre: Magical Realism

What an appealing read! I was immediately drawn to the strong, magical cover and the colourful inner pages and looked forward to finding out more about the secret life of Indigo Wilde and her family - and the magical creatures they secretly look after! Indigo Wilde and her little brothe...

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Name: Nathan Cox
09 June 2021;

Genre: Fantasy

Otherland by Louie Stowell is an excellent adventure, fantasy story that opens up a whole new realm of magical fairies, gods and creatures where things aren't always as they appear. This story has something for every reader and is very hard to put down. Myra and Rohan are lifelong friends with...

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Name: Jessica Bunney
08 June 2021;

Genre: Friendship

From children’s favourite and award-winning author of 'I am NOT an elephant' and 'I am a Tiger', comes a more emotional and thought-provoking story about how differently us and our friends may respond to difficult emotions and what might be best for them or us when we are 'feeling blue'. <...

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Name: Louisa Farrow
08 June 2021;

Genre: Adventure

According Billy’s mum, the rules of survival matter more than anything Billy can learn in class - so he's more often then on 'adventures' with her than in school. Billy adores his mum, although she's different from everyone else's, but after she lights a fire in their living room, he is sent t...

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Name: Catherine Kus
07 June 2021;

Genre: Friendship

The main themes of How to Mend a Friend are empathy, sadness and supporting a friend. It was written by the author Karl Newson whilst he was undergoing treatment for cancer so it has a very emotional feel around it. It is such a beautiful book - the words and illustrations are...

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Name: Carol Wright
07 June 2021;

Genre: Friendship

Sarah’s parents, like many others, buy their daughter a 560 mark IV Troofriend as an AI friend. Sarah names her AI friend Ivy. At first, Sarah is not really interested in the new friend her parents have bought her, until she realises this may be a way to make real friends at school. Meanwhile,...

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Name: Jennifer Caddick
07 June 2021;

Genre: Magical Realism

Young Bastjan is following in his late mother's footsteps, working in a circus troupe, under the instruction of his unpleasant, cruel stepfather and ringmaster, Cyrus Quinn. Forced to face his biggest fears to become a death defying aerialist as his mother was, Bastjan is desperate to gain acc...

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Name: Catherine Purcell
06 June 2021;

Genre: Real life

A Susin Nielsen book is a real joy. A wry smiling, head nodding, frequent chuckling, joy. And that's not an easy thing to create. Susin Nielsen, you are terrific. Radiant. Some human being! Tremendous Things begins with Wil's Defining Moment, narrated by Wil; honestly it's a beauty and...

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Name: Lizi Backhouse
06 June 2021;

Genre: Picture Books

Grandma's house is full of rules, some of them make sense and some of the don't. But one is very clear: don't touch the big blue and white vase. When Grandma goes out, confusion happens and the vase gets broken! I'm not a great fan of this book; it feels very negative, even though Grand...

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Name: Louisa Farrow
05 June 2021;

Genre: Non Fiction

100 Endangered Species has the cute appeal of a gift book but an admirably serious purpose. Focusing on a hundred species that appear on the IUCN Red List, it aims to highlight their uniqueness, their plight and the efforts that are being made to conserve them. The grap...

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